Supporters Like You
Rebecca A. Gardner
“There are many opportunities to engage and join others who support the University to show your support of education, and be part of the Hornet family. Find something you are passionate about, and consider leaving a gift.”
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Q&A With Rebecca A. Gardner
Rebecca A. Gardner ’99 and her husband, Rodney Moy, prioritize giving to Sacramento State through their estate plan. They are pictured with their son, Henry.
What has Sacramento State meant to you?
As a student, Sacramento State meant opportunity. Sacramento State was one of the few universities in the country that, at the time, offered a government/journalism program, and with the state capitol right here, this felt like the right place for me. I connected closely with my professors face-to-face with small class sizes, unlike some other universities that have large lecture halls. The faculty truly care about teaching here, and they do a good job of preparing students for the world. I received a wonderful education that helped launch me into graduate school and onto my career.
I now have the chance to give back as a lecturer in Communication Studies at Sacramento State. The students have such excitement and drive, and as a teacher, it’s amazing to see their outlook shift before your eyes. Many of my Sacramento State professors encouraged me to pursue law school, and it’s important to me that now I can help guide others on their future paths.
Why did you decide to make a gift to Sacramento State in your will and trust?
My husband and I married in our late 30s, and we knew we wanted to have a family. We were active in various organizations in Sacramento that we cared about and where we were already giving our time and annual donations. When planning our own estate, it made sense to include these charities in our plans in addition to providing for our family.
Personally, my parents, both Sac State alums, modeled the importance of philanthropy throughout my childhood. Even though they had modest incomes, they would save envelopes from various charitable solicitations they would receive, and every payday, we would select one or two organizations and make a donation. They showed me that no matter what you have, you can always give something to help others, and that lesson has stayed with me.
What do you say to someone considering making a gift through their estate plan?
I tell people that planning for a future gift is not as complicated as you might think. There are some easy ways to designate a gift to charity, and more importantly, you are in the driver’s seat. You decide which organizations you want to support, and you can change your wishes at any time. My husband and I regularly sit down and review our estate plan to ensure that the organizations we included are still those that we care most about and want to support.
If you could tell everyone just one thing about Sacramento State, what would it be?
If you want it to, Sacramento State can feel like family. You can join the Alumni Association, attend a variety of events and connect with other Hornets. There are many opportunities to engage and join others who support the University to show your support of education, and be part of the Hornet family. Find something you are passionate about, and consider leaving a gift.
Rebecca A. Gardner graduated from Sacramento State in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Government/Journalism and Humanities. Rebecca now works as a partner at HMS Law Group, LLP in Sacramento. She focuses on general and complex estate planning, post-death trust and probate administration, business planning and art law. Additionally, Rebecca serves as an adjunct faculty member at Sacramento State. As a proud Hornet alumna, Rebecca volunteered as a board member and board president of the Sacramento State Alumni Association and remains engaged with programming and events. Rebecca and her husband, Rodney Moy, involve their son, Henry, in all things Sac State and he has been boasting “Stingers up!” since he was a toddler.
Bernice Bass de Martinez
“When you care about a place, you give in support of the place. Giving to Sac State emphasizes the passions that I care about, and I can give at an amount that feels right for me. I can give until it feels good.”
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Sacramento State faculty member Bernice Bass de Martinez says giving to Sac State is easy because it’s family. “I don’t know how not to give back,” explains Bernice, who serves as Special Assistant to the Dean in the College of Arts and Letters. “I grew up around that experience—that you always help others.”
As a child, Bernice went along with her parents on their numerous service activities to help members of their church and community. Through those experiences, she saw the value of leaders who learn “to listen as a way of determining how to best help others, as opposed to superimposing what you think they need.”
As a natural leader driven by service, Bernice has built a distinguished career in higher education, working more than 30 years in various roles at institutions around the nation, including 20 years at Sacramento State. She served as Chair of the Foreign Language department (now known as the Department of World Languages and Literatures), Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs before moving to her current role in 2015. In addition to this, she has more than 16 years of faculty experience teaching at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
As if that wasn’t enough service for one person, Bernice also loved her experiences having worked in Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean. “I have always wanted to show people you can build education in an equitable way—notice I said equitable, not equal. Additionally, I believe there are ways of working collaboratively that allow people to achieve anything without losing their identity,” Bernice says with heartfelt wisdom. “And I am passionate about supporting and preparing more women and people of color for leadership roles.”
This passion for equity has influenced Bernice’s career and her personal involvement at Sac State. She initially served on the University Foundation Board as Faculty Representative and now serves as a community member and is a committee chair, as well as a donor to the Sac State President’s Circle.
“When you care about a place, you give in support of the place,” she says. “Giving to Sac State emphasizes the passions that I care about, and I can give at an amount that feels right for me. I can give until it feels good.” She knows she is not alone in her commitment to the University’s mission and its students.
“By giving financially to Sac State, we can be assured that the University will be able to continue to support students and help make a difference in their lives. Without students and the support we give them, we won’t have a university.”
Arvid “Jim” Peterson
“I would like to see that there are people out there that have some of the skills I had, and to do some good with them.”
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Jim enjoyed his career and his work, but he soon realized that those who were getting ahead in their careers were individuals that possessed an engineering degree. “I recognized that if I get an engineering degree, I can further my career the way I want to—and that’s what I did.”
Jim took a chance and signed up for civil engineering graduate classes at Sacramento State. He focused his coursework on environmental engineering and completed his Master of Science degree. The projects and connections he made in his graduate program led to his 17-year career at the California Air Resources Board.
Twenty-five years later, Jim decided to give back to the university that helped him to move forward with his career. He established the Arvid J. Peterson Fund in Environmental Engineering at Sacramento State and designated a gift to the fund in his will.
He saw the growing need for individuals trained to effectively handle environmental crises. “There’s no shortage of environmental problems; they’re not going away. There is plenty of work out there, and plenty of opportunities.”
The Arvid J. Peterson Fund in Environmental Engineering will help with the hiring and funding of faculty that will continue to teach the environmental engineering courses he considered essential for his career. Funds will also support developing new courses and purchasing equipment and maintaining the labs.
Jim admitted that his decision to support Sacramento State’s environmental engineering wasn’t a lifelong ambition, nor was it something he had initially planned to do. However, after making sure close family members were financially secure, and after donating to several other organizations, he began to consider the impact of donating to an institute of higher education. An endowed fund with Sacramento State became an obvious choice.
To those considering making a gift to Sacramento State through their own will or trust plans, Jim recognized that the choice is “highly personal.” For Jim, he was confident in the decision he made to give back to Sac State. “I would like to see that there are people out there that have some of the skills I had, and to do some good with them.”
Jim passed away in November 2021. For generations, students pursuing environmental engineering will benefit from Jim’s gift, and his legacy will have a lasting impact at Sacramento State, in our community and for our world.
Bill Neuman and Anna Rita
“It’s the access for many first-generation students who want a chance to better themselves. And it’s the best higher education bargain in the country.”
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That’s when the longtime Sacramento State engineering professor decided to launch a local scholarship, one that could immediately benefit the engineering students he saw daily on campus.
Together with his wife, Anna Rita, along with the widow of an early Sac State engineering dean, they created a new scholarship endowment in 1998. Today it is one of the longest-running engineering scholarship funds within the College of Engineering & Computer Science.
“Students need support and encouragement. And individuals need a place to give,” says Bill, who retired in 1997 after 35 years teaching civil engineering. “When we launched this, there wasn’t any place to give money for engineering student scholarships. There was an unmet need.”
Started in 1998, the scholarship fund—known simply as the Engineering General Scholarship of Sac State—is administered by the University Foundation at Sacramento State.
Over the last two decades, it has given about $1,200 annually to a junior or senior engineering student for books, tuition or other school-related expenses. Applicants must write a short essay on their goals and aspirations, plus submit a resume, transcript of grades and recommendations by faculty advisors.
Bill, a native Sacramentan who holds a master’s in civil engineering from Stanford University, is a big believer in the value of a California State University education. “It’s the access for many first-generation students who want a chance to better themselves. And it’s the best higher education bargain in the country.”
Bill should know: He earned his undergraduate civil engineering degree at Sac State in 1961.
Equipped with a combination of strong academics and hands-on projects, Sac State engineering graduates often have an advantage over their less experienced peers at other prestigious universities, Bill notes. “Sac State engineers are able to be productive from their first day on the job. Employers want our graduates.”
A father of three and grandparent of six, Bill believes that supporting the next generation of engineers is essential.
“Civil engineering is the oil that makes society work and makes civilization possible,” he says, noting that civil engineers are responsible for infrastructure—structures, geotechnics, transportation—and the environment—water, air, waste. “It’s a rewarding profession because you can see the tangible results of what you do. You solve problems.”
By providing a longstanding scholarship for aspiring engineers, Bill and Anna Rita hope that their giving will inspire others. “We wanted to create a scholarship where local alumni could participate,” Bill says. “We’re hoping that we created an available way for people who want to give.”
